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100

The Onion (A.V. Club)

For all the awe kindled by the effectively perfect sound in a transcendent highlight like 'Kim & Jessie,' the real triumph is that M83 uses such a setting for more simple melody and emotion than ever before.

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Under The Radar

Saturdays=Youth contains some of the band's best songs to date. [Spring 2008, p.77]

Pitchfork

Saturdays=Youth meaningfully diversifies M83's catalog while retaining Gonzalez's indelible fingerprint.

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cokemachineglow

Of course it’s cheeseball, as we all were at that age. But that’s ultimately what makes this accessible, highly-listenable album a reinvigoration of both catalogue and genre.

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Lost At Sea

Like it or not, the 1980s are part of who we are and Gonzales' homage to the decade is the closest thing to perfect he's achieved.

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No Ripcord

Nonetheless, Saturdays = Youth finds itself in the higher echelons of '08 so far for radically different reasons, and, unpredictedly, it wouldn't be too surprising if M83's decision to avoid making a by-the-numbers album saw those overdue dividends finally reaching them.

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Paste Magazine

The clear standout, though, is 'Kim & Jessie,' which convincingly recaptures the magic gloss of Tears for Fears with a propulsive undercurrent and an elegant use of space. One of the best songs of 2008 so far, it’s the key destination in a stunning journey.

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Delusions of Adequacy

Fans of previous M83 albums should still enjoy Saturdays as it doesn't veer too far from the template established on the past few albums.

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Magnet

On fourth album Saturdays=Youth, the warm synthesizers are still in play and Gonzalez’s propensity for beguiling bombast is undiminished, but by imposing structure and melodic discipline on these sprawling compositions, he’s made them even more elegant and effective.

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All Music Guide

As super-stylized as its sounds and emotions are, Saturdays=Youth always seems genuine, even when it feels like its songs are made from the memories of other songs.

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Slant Magazine

And though analog synthesizer remains definitional of the M83's sound, they open the arrangements to include more naturalistic instrumentation as well. The approach allows this band named for a galaxy to seem more grounded, and yet more universal, than ever before.

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The Phoenix

This is an album steeped in a generation’s worth of nostalgia, but unlike most rehashed coming-of-age exercises, Saturdays = Youth manages, in its own small way, to offer something entirely new.

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Village Voice

Anthony Gonzalez nurtures nostalgia but isn't enslaved by it, and Saturdays=Youth teems with equal parts ache and pomp as a result.

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Blender

Filled with ambitious production and winsome nostalgia, Saturdays is an otherworldly chronicle of adolescence only a starry-eyed 20-something could make.

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Billboard

Though nothing quite reaches the heights of past work, there's ambience to spare on "We Own the Night" and the lush "Highway of Endless Dreams."

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Drowned In Sound

Predictably there’s a slide towards more abstracted material toward the latter half, and parts of Saturdays=Youth are all hairspray and no body, but the whole thing sweeps along with such an irrepressible mix of youthful invincibility (‘We Own The Sky’) and flouncing fatalism (‘Too Late’, ‘Graveyard Girl’) it sucks the wind right out of your cheeks before you’ve had chance to huff.

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Alternative Press

M83's latest flight into the synthesized stratosphere is so steeped in '80s influence, it;s as if teen filmmaker John Hughes was lurking behind the keyboards. [June 2008, p.137]

Almost Cool

If you go back to the touchpoints of the era in terms of music, there's certainly plenty of awful lyrics, and while I can often overlook lyrics if the music itself is strong, Saturdays = Youth sometimes lapses into a sort of emo shoegazer feel that's simply a bit too sickly-sweet for me.

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musicOMH.com

A real mixed bag, then--M83 still show plenty of guile and in their best moments present music of hidden power and grace.

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NOW Magazine

Surprisingly, the least pop-based tracks stand out most.

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The Guardian

To call Saturdays=Youth derivative is to pay it a compliment, because every retro synth sounds calibrated to provide the maximum nostalgic rush.

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Under The Radar

[A] disappointment. [Spring 2008, p.77]

PopMatters

So Saturdays=Youth isn’t an unqualified success, and probably won’t be as warmly welcomed by fans as M83’s previous albums have been. Still, there are plenty of moments on the disc that remind you why this pulsing, layered music is so powerful.

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Spin

M83 needs to step out of the '80s, and back into the future. [Apr 2008, p.100]

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Urb

M83's new effort saunters like a slow dance from "Sixteen Candles." [Mar/Apr 2008, p.109]

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Dusted Magazine

With the exception of the engorged 'Couleurs,' 'Dark Moves of Love's' lift into the stratosphere, and the ambient feather-on-the-breath drones of 'Midnight Souls Still Remain,' Saturdays = Youth is strangely leaden, an album fenced off by its conceptual constraints.

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Uncut

Saturdays=Youth is embarrassingly earnest. [May 2008, p.102]

Tiny Mix Tapes

I’m deflated again, as all Gonzalez does with this blank canvas for electronic experimentation is cycle two chords over and over with a little synth sprinkled on top.

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Q Magazine

Halfway through, though, Gonzalez's self-indulgence gets the better of him and you're left with half-baked ideas and little else. [June 2008, p.145]

What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this album is 8.2 (out of 10) based on 29 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Minh N gave it a9:
This album as a whole is fucking great. I think it's either you love this band or hate them. You Appearing, Kim & Jessie, Skin Of The Night, Graveyard Girl, Couleurs, We Own The Sky... all awesome tracks.

Joe T. gave it a7:
This M83 album is pleasant enough, but it needs something to help it go against the grain rather than just tip-toe through the tulips.

Adam P. gave it an8:
I dig the mixing and the sonic textures, but it seems like my fellow indie-music-philes overrate this album just a tad. Off the top of my head I can think of more than 30 albums released in 2008 that were better than this one.

Andre C. gave it a10:
Stellar album - a fantastic and beautiful journey.

Hector gave it a0:
This album sucks. There are maybe one to three good songs in it but it fully supports why I'm all about Limewire and downloading before buying an album. This is the most useless thing I've ever bought. This band supposedly had so much promise when I read some of the reviews. There is no nostalgia here, there is no artistry here, just a bunch of cliché, over sentimental lyrics that attempt at emotional blackmail so that one may warm up and not be so harsh towards this. There are musicians that have not been sign to the same scale as this band has that deserve far more attention. This albums as though Stacy Q, or Kylie Minogue or Madonna attempted to make a Shoegaze record in 1985. I want my money back. Or at least go into the record store and exchange it for something better. However, I’ve learned my lesson… download before buying. No matter what self-righteous, holier than thou people, who spout the theft propaganda might say.

Erok J gave it a7:
I'd have to say I like maybe 4 or 5 songs on the album. I liked alot of where before the dawn heals us, but this is getting a little too vocal and "regular". Not enough substance to be that big of an album.

Joen h. gave it a10:
Outstanding album. Takes a few listens to properly sink in.

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